{"id":21361,"date":"2025-06-03T02:51:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T06:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/?p=21361"},"modified":"2025-06-07T06:58:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T10:58:02","slug":"den-helder-holland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aleta.life\/index.php\/2025\/06\/03\/den-helder-holland\/","title":{"rendered":"Den Helder, Holland"},"content":{"rendered":"
Position: \/\/\/MONKEY.ELEVATE.RECLINE<\/a><\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a>Bright and early the sun over Cuxhaven slashed through the blinds and roused us. Slack water wasn\u2019t due until mid-morning, so we lolled around making coffee and finishing the crossword. With 30 minutes to go, we moved Aleta round to the fuel dock and filled her to the brim with (non-bio) diesel[1]<\/sup><\/a>. Gently turning into the Elbe River, we motored west with the outgoing tide on calm seas.<\/p>\n

The weather forecast was, by every local account, unusual for the time of year: steady winds out of the north, turning northeast under clear, cloudless skies. For anyone heading south towards the Mediterranean it was a gift from G–. Through late morning and into the afternoon the winds built to a steady 15 knots. Coming off the land, the steady breezes helped iron out the waves that had built up over the past couple of days. Under sail with full jib and main, things were downright pleasant for the first 22 hours or so.<\/p>\n

Semi-sweet<\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a>Around breakfast the following day, the coastline curved just enough to push the wind aft of the stern quarter. Downwind, as you know, is Aleta\u2019s least favourite point of sail. A little motor-sailing would keep us moving ahead without having to cross the North Sea and tacking endlessly. As soon as we put Aleta into gear, though, she began vibrating noticeably. This is not all that unusual. With a well-worn feathering propellor, it sometimes needs a little encouragement to set itself in the right direction. But coming hard off the damper plate repair, all kinds of other scenarios passed through our minds.<\/p>\n

A bit of forward and reverse shifting indicated all was well with the transmission. That left the propeller as the likely culprit. Finding 1,500RPM a semi-sweet spot, we changed plans. Instead of a two nights’ passage directly to Bruges in Belgium, we changed course for Den Helder, Holland, three hours away. Then we started making phone calls. Cell phones have largely replaced VHF communications for most sailors in Europe. With signals reaching as far as seven miles offshore, sending emails or making calls is a piece of cake. Over the next hour we found a mooring, scheduled a mechanic\u2019s visit for first thing Monday morning, and researched an area of Holland that even the Dutch rarely visit.<\/p>\n

Sea Hole<\/h6>\n

\"\"<\/a>Situated at the very top of the North Holland peninsula, Den Helder is the last city on the Dutch mainland before you head out to the islands of Friesland. Given its strategic position and access to the North Sea, Den Helder\u2019s off-season economy relies heavily on the Dutch Navy that makes its home there. In summer, intrepid tourists arrive by car, motorcycle, bicycle, caravan and a few by boat. Many pass through on their way to Texel Island, 20 minutes north by ferry.<\/p>\n

The Marsdiep<\/a>, a sea hole<\/a> connecting the inland Wadden Sea to North Sea, separates Texel from North Holland. Currents stream through the Marsdiep at up to three knots. Now, normally Aleta motors along at 2,000 RPM. With the wind blowing out of the east, 1,500RPM might not be enough to maintain headway. But we lucked out. Turning into the Marsdiep channel, the tide and current ran in our favour and more than offset the headwinds.<\/p>\n

Hugging the edge of the channel, Carol steered us into the harbour and up to the lock gate for the marina. Two years ago, transiting Holland on the Staande Mastroute<\/a>. we became experts at muscling Aleta through all kinds of locks. It only took us a few minutes to remember where to stand and what to grab onto. Inside the Jachthaven Willemsoord<\/a>, during docking manoeuvres, the vibrations disappeared. Once again everything seemed perfectly fine.<\/p>\n

Lemonade<\/h6>\n

Bang on time the mechanic arrived and walked me through some troubleshooting steps. Turning Aleta\u2019s engine on, she pulled hard on the mooring lines as I cranked her to 2,500RPM. In forward and reverse everything was as smooth as silk. There are few things in life more irritating than an intermittent fault. From the engine room our mechanic looked at me a little apologetically and said, \u201cGiven there are no symptoms, there isn\u2019t much I can do. You could haul her out for me to diagnose what\u2019s going on. But that might take weeks and costs lots of money. In the meantime, here are some things you can do if it happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering his advice, we figured we would soldier on to the next port and see if the vibration returned along the way. Meanwhile, after a couple of long walks along the seashore, we had become fascinated with the area and decided to take a couple more days and explore it on foot and e-bike. When life throws you lemons\u2026<\/p>\n

Roses<\/h6>\n

Like Cuxhaven, the town of Den Helder\u2019s streets are lined with modern-ish row houses that follow ancient sharp, narrow and diagonal lines cutting across the city. Around our marina the industrial remains of long-shuttered foundries have been transformed into a naval museum, exhibition spaces and a half dozen hipster bar-cum-restaurants. Downtown, about 10 minutes\u2019 walk from the marina, has a decent selection of shops, several ice cream parlours, and at least three bike rental shops catering to the tourists.<\/p>\n

Bicycling and walking paths run atop and alongside the zeedijk<\/a><\/em> for miles. In the warm, clear sunshine we spotted the 17th<\/sup> century fort softly outlined in bas relief beneath a few hundred years of shifting sands. A little further on, and visible for miles, stands a wonderfully tall, terracotta red lighthouse. Today it serves only as a point of interest for sailors in clear weather. Between the fort and the lighthouse sit lush green fields and a couple of active horse farms. Walking down off the spine of the zeedijk<\/em>, the dune grasses morphed into shrubs and scrubby, windblown beach trees. Here and there white cowslips, fruit blossoms and bright fuchsia sea roses (Rosa rugosa)<\/em> splattered the dense sward with a welcome change of colour. If we hadn\u2019t sailed in from Germany two days before, I could swear it was summer on Cape Cod.<\/p>\n

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